The excerpts from Yurchak’s book discuss how Western music, particularly jazz and rock and roll, had become increasingly popular amongst Soviet youth in the 1950s and onward. This went hand in hand with the increasing fascination over Western culture, in which things like fashion, style, and film also became subsumed into Soviet youth culture. In part this was a reaction to the concept of the “Imaginary West”, where citizens of the Soviet Union could only experience Western imagery and culture through a various select lense. The Soviet Union decree was that Western culture could be admired, but also had the capacity to be steeped in cosmopolitan, bourgeois ideals. This became especially true in the post-World War II era as more Western music began to filter in. The consumption and performance of this music was like act of rebellion for Soviet youth and it was often distributed through underground, bootlegged mediums such as being pressed on old X-rays like vinyl record or on a homemade cassette recording. Most notably, Soviet officials were worried that American rock music could be used as an “ideological weapon” as Yurchak says, because of its capacity to incorporate heavy political messages in the lyrics as well as being birthed out of a culture of rampant materialism and capitalism. However, this did not stop the music from being the music of forward-thinking, young Soviets, often for the sheer futuristic and seemingly alien nature of the music itself.
How does the progressive nature and seemingly dangerous allure of rock music during that time period play into the longstanding notions of an “Imaginary West”?
And how did official Soviet response to the music impact this? How about the role of the komsomol, which targeted youths in particular?
Compared to other depictions of samizdat activities we’ve, how does this inform your ideas of the movement or its progression over time?
If the majestic list of problem bands we read is any indication, the komsomol added a bunch of its own rebellious mystique to the very music it was trying to challenge. That said, I think something similar goes on with the rebellious music of every generation: the condemnation of the authorities only makes it sweeter. 🙂
I agree. Also, the particular reasons for why the bands were considered taboo was really interesting. It seems the Komsomol was as unaware of the real meaning of the songs as the rebels who listened to them.
One of the biggest reasons Western rock n roll (for Soviets) falls into the classification of “the Imaginary West” is that the majority of the youth couldn’t understand the lyrics, and made up their own. If they could understand the lyrics, then they would be able to start to see the West as it was (or as Western artists represented it), rather than transpose their idea of what the West was like based on the feelings rock n roll aroused in them.
By denigrating rock n roll, the official Soviet response made rock n roll more alluring. Whether or not it was steeped in bourgeois ideology didn’t matter, because there wasn’t any ideology making its way into Soviet listeners’ brains. To the Soviet youth it was *just* music, and they perhaps felt that the official response was part of the “ritual” of the party rather than something that had to be followed.
Having had such a long history with censorship and “-dats” of various nature, this goes to prove (once again) that Western ideas/art will make their way into Russia, it’s just a matter of time.
Samizdat was bolstered within the kompanii’s as an underground movement. Much like the self published works, the underground music scene allowed for much lower censorship allowing for a people to more freely get their message out. This combined with desire for an “imaginary west,” and the censorship of mainstream rock made underground music much more appealing, giving it a feeling of rebellion and danger.
As discussed, the fact that much Western music was condemned by official organs of the government, only added to its allure for many Soviet youth. Additionally, the ridiculous characterization of some Western bands as violent (such as, according to Soviet officials, the Village People) or promoting “religious obscurantism” only served to further the view held by many Soviet Youth, and especially Konsomol leaders, that this music is harmless to the Soviet cause.
Something I’d find interesting would be accounts of those who existed in this faux-Western culture actually interacting with, say, a rock concert or some other thing that tosses them into the deep end of real western culture. The faux-Western culture was a framework for rebellion in a way; would they have actually liked the real Western culture if they interacted with it, or would it have been too alien?
I think the rock music played a part in the “imaginary west” in a way that allowed youth to believe that they had become a “apart” of the west, when in fact they had not. They had a vision of what the west should look like in a cultural sense but were not really capable of bringing that culture into their country. As for the people who oppose the youth of acting this way, it is easy to understand why because it was similar to being invaded by outside forces.